Cranberry Moscow Mule

Add a festive flair to your holiday season with Cranberry Moscow Mule and Ginger Sugared Cranberries.

Let the countdown begin folks. Only 24 days left until Christmas and 15 days until the first night of Chanukah. The holiday party invitations are starting to show up and your inbox is overflowing with countless offers to buy this, save on that!

To make your life a little easier my Holiday Food Party friends and I have put together some delicious seasonal recipes for your holiday gatherings. This is a one stop shop right here, with cocktails, cakes, chocolate and more!

Now, no party is complete without holiday cheer and I like mine to be in the form of a refreshing cocktail to enjoy throughout the night. Cranberry Moscow Mules will cheer up any grinch with the sparkling candied cranberry garnish and cranberry ginger bite.

This cocktail does take some advance planning in order to make your candied cranberries and simple syrup but once that’s done, stirring things up is as easy as 1,2,3 (and okay 4)!

Instead of watering the drink down with additional cranberry juice to ginger beer, I made a cranberry ginger simple syrup from the mix to candy the cranberries. There is no waste going on in this cocktail!

Plus you can choose the intensity of the ginger depending on your own taste. Really love the ginger kick? Then instead of strips, shred the ginger to allow some of the juices to mingle with the simple syrup and let it steep for a longer period. Want less? Just take it out while the cranberries dry.

Oh and did I mention the syrup would make a great holiday gift? Bottle it up and bag it with a bottle of your favorite vodka!

In a medium sauce pan bring the water, ginger and sugar to a simmer over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the cranberries and let sit for about 1 minute. Turn off the heat before any cranberry starts to pop.

Remove from the heat and place a small dish or bowl inside the pan, on top of the cranberries to weigh them down and steep in the liquid. Let sit at room temperature for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours or to infuse the ginger flavor for longer you can steep in your refrigerator overnight.

Remove the plate and with a slotted spoon remove the cranberries, leaving the ginger back in the simple syrup, placing the plate back over to hold it down.

Place the sugar on a small rimmed baking sheet with enough space for the cranberries to lay in an event layer and coat the cranberries completely.

Let the cranberries air dry at room temperature for about 2 to 3 hours.

Thread cranberries on a toothpick as garnish for the cocktail and keep extra in an airtight container in a cool spot for about a day.

Strain the remaining ginger in the simple syrup and place in a jar.

To make the cocktail:

In a collins glass rub the rim with a little simple syrup and dip in some leftover sugar from the cranberries for a sugared rim.

Pour in the simple syrup, lime juice and vodka. Stir and add ice, top with club soda.

I’m always so happy when you post drink recipes, Susan. This sounds freaking delicious. I love ginger so I’d definitely increase the flavour profile. Maybe I should make a few bottles of the simple syrup and gift them to the one I love the most (me). Lady, those sugared cranberries are so beautiful and festive, I can’t stand it! Can’t I just spend the next 24 days partying, drinking and eating instead of working?

I want this cocktail right now. I love that you made a flavored simple syrup for it. I LOVE making simple syrups for cocktails. I have a plethora of mason jars in my fridge with different simple syrups right now. Its pretty funny.

Made these for Thanksgiving Day happy hour and OMG – they were delicious. Followed the directions as written. Wished I’d made more ginger syrup so that I could enjoy one more the next day. Not only did they taste amazing, they were gorgeous to look at. Thanks for a fabulous recipe. Definitely will make again.

Thank you Anne! I’m so happy you enjoyed this cocktail! I most definitely recommend making extra simple syrup with any cocktail recipe, it’s easy to do at the time and lasts forever in the fridge! Have a good holiday and cheers!